Method of forming dies for sign characters.



IVI. CREIGHTON @L A. W. DIXON. METHOD DF FORNHNG DIES FOR SIGN CHARACTERS. APPLICATION man MAR. 30. 1917.

i @pUQ). Patented Jan., 8, 11918.

,UNlTED-STALTES PATENT MELVINCREIGHTON AND ANDREW W. DIXON, OF RENSSELAER FALLS, NEW YORK.

.IIFLMETHOD 'OF FGIRMING DIES FOR SIGN CHARACTERS.

' Specication of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. e, i918.

Application led March 30, 1917. r Serial No. 158,697.

ToaZZ whom t-mag/oonoern:

, State of New York, have invented a new vide a and lmprovcd Method of I `orming` Dies for Sign Characters, of which the following is a full.' clear, and exact description.

` This invention relates to the art of making embossed letters or other characters for signs or the like of the general nature shown and claimed in Letters Patent inf the United States No. 1.189.649, issued to us on the 9th dav ofyMav,-l916.

A Among the obiects of this present invention is to provide a method of making' embossedletters in a much simpler and cheaper manner than has heretofore been practised.

Another obiect of the invention is to promethod of making sign characters with raised portions( through the use of male and femalel die members, the relation of the two dies 'being such that theV raised portions of the letters'w'ill be lprovided with beveled edges.

A still fnrtherobiect of the invention is to provide a pair of die members so arranged or -relatedtoeach other as to form an embossed border for the sign, the embossing of the border beingdone simultaneously with the making of the embossed letter.

lVith the foregoing and other objects in view the invention consists in the arrangement and combination of parts hereinafter described and claimed, and while the invention is not restricted to the exact details of construction disclosed or suggested herein, still for the purpose of illustrating a practical embodiment thereof reference is had to the accompanying drawings, in which like reference characters designate the same parts in the several views, and in which-- Figure 1 is a face view of a die blank marked preliminary to cutting out the male and female die portions or members.

Fig. 2 is a face view of the female die complete and mounted upon a hacker.

Fig. 3 is a view of the male portion of the die as it will be cut from the blank.

Fig. 4 is a sectional detail showing the two dies cooperating with each other to form an embossed letter, the plane of this ligure being similar to that indicated on the line t-at of Fig; 5 is a perspective View ofthe letter formed by this means.

Fig. 6 is a face view of a', female die provided with a border forming device.

Fig. j? is a face view of a corresponding' male die.

Fig. S is a sectional detail showing the relation of the two dies to the blank heilig embossed on a plane corresponding to the line 8 8 of Fig. 6 and Fig. 9 is a detail view on a much larger scale showing how the beveling is accom plished with only right angularly formed edges for the die members.

As fully set forth in our patent above referred to, for letters or characters for signs such as are used extensively for marking barns or other farm buildings or the like, we have found it of great advantageto form each letter from a single sheet of metal so em` bossed that 'the face of the letter itself stands up in a plane spaced materially from the back ground or base of the plate, so that'it is an easy expedient for the letter as a whole thus made. to be dipped in paint and ap-1 pliedV to the building or other support and then for the painter to'subsequently paint the face of the letter with any suitable paint of a contrasting color. This painting operationmay be performed by any ordinary painter without requiring the skill demanded ordinarily for the painting of sign letters. Furthermore in the making of these letters, especially where the plates are dipped in a darker paint, it is of vast importance that the characters be embossed in such a manner as to provide beveling whereby a shaded letter effect is readily produced by simply painting the lat back ground as well as the face of the letter in such a manner as to contrast with the darker beveled portion.

Heretofore it has been the general custom in the making of dies to form them from heavy blocks of metal or their equivalent, an expedient that is very expensive. In our process, however, we take a simple plain blank l0, say of steel, of uniform thickness and of convenient length and breadth for the general type or size of letters or characters to be made and on the face of such a blank we outline as indicated at l1, a letter to be made. using a double line to make the outline. The next step is to out out the metal of the blank between the two parallel lines forming the outline of lll@ the character. rl`his may be done by the use of a rotary milling cutter, a hack saw, or any other suitable tool, ordinary mechanical care being used in cutting away only that portion of the blank between the lilies. For a machinist this is a simple and rapid expedient. When this cutting operation is finishedthere are formed simultaneously by such operation the male part 12 and female part 13. In the character indicated it is shown that certain small interior parts such as 13 are sometimes formed and they then become parts of the female die and fixed in proper position. These die parts are then mounted upon bases 14 and 15 of any suitable character for operation in embossing processes and so related to each other that the male portion Will have the same registry with the other portion as it had in its original position'in the blank, each part being spaced from the other in all directions by a distance exactly equal to the width of the part of the metal cut out by the tool in sepa-y rating the two parts of the blank.

By reference to Fig. 9 it will be readily apparent that the space between adjacent die parts may be made to depend upon the thickness of the die plate, the thickness of the sheet 16 being` treated, and the angle of the bevel as indicated at 16. In other words as shown in Fig. 4, if the bevel is to be comparatively abrupt the space between the die parts will be practically the the same as the thickness of the sheet 1G.

` By rounding the edges of the dies all likeli- Referring now to Figs. G, 7 and 8, We Y show a form of die having an embossed border feature or attachment in addition to the forming of the main character; In Fig. 6 ive show the same die members 13 and 13 as in Fig. 2, the same being mounted upon a backer plate 13, these parts for any set of characters being made uniformly as to thickness and other dimensions and adapted to coperate with the border frame 17, the ends of which are provided with parallel grooves 17. The male die member 1S shows in Fig. 7 the part 1'2 which cooperates With the member of Fig. 6 as before described and along the ends of the part 1S are formed ribs 18 which coperate With the grooves 17 to form the border for the character. It will be understood that the relative Widths of the ribs and grooves will be determined by the amount of bevel to be provided for the borders, but the Whole operation in making the letter or other character and its borders Will be accomplished at one time.

' XVe claim:

The herein described method of forming coperating male and female die members comprising the Jfollowing steps; first outlining by parallel lines a character on the face of a blank plate of uniform thickness; secondly cutting out the metal between the parallel lines, and thirdly mounting the male and female portions on bases in such a manner as to provide the same alinement forthese parts as originally positioned in the blank. y

MFLVIN CRFGHTON. ANDREW W. DIXON.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for ve cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. C. 

